Blackphone To Launch Security-Focused App Store

Privacy-minded phone manufacturer Blackphone has revealed that its users will soon be able to download and install specially-designed apps to their devices thanks to the company’s first specially-designed app store.

The firm has announced that a major update to its PrivatOS software, set to arrive early next year, will feature apps specifically selected by Blackphone as the most secure and privacy-optimised on the market.

Several apps will also come pre-loaded on to all new Blackphone handsets, ensuring users remain secure from the first time they use the device.

Private spaces

The updated PrivatOS1.1, which is built on top of Android 4.4 KitKat, also introduces the Spaces feature, which allows users to create separate profiles on their device for certain apps, data and accounts.

Spaces will mean that users can separate their work and personal lives on their device, minimising the risk of data being accessed or shared outside of the office, or allow cross-family use, with child-friendly apps or games kept away from the parent’s profile.

Each device will come pre-loaded with a “Silent Space” profile, which includes Blackphone’s ‘Silent Suite’ of apps for encrypted communication, the new app store and a bundle of pre-loaded privacy apps.

“The addition of Spaces and the Blackphone app store is the most significant update to PrivatOS since its inception and is a real ‘game changer’ for the brand, further highlighting our commitment to placing privacy back into the hands of the user,” said Toby Weir-Jones, CEO, Blackphone.

“We are delighted to have developed the Silent Space, alongside Graphite Software, who share our core values of privacy and security.”

Blackphone launched earlier this year in a bid to appeal to security-conscious consumers worried about possible government surveillance of their device, offering encrypted calls, text messages and extra protection when browsing the web.

Released in the UK in July, the Blackphone quickly sold out of its initial run, with the company revealing in October that it was now planning the launch of a tablet following the success of its handset.

Can you look after your personal data online? Take our quiz!